Canada was discovered in 1497 by John Cabot. The first European explorers encountered established settlements everywhere along the coast of America. This first contact between European civilization and native cultures took very different forms in various meetings, but all were previews of a larger and more explosive trend that was to drive the natives back from the shores. The European explorers became settlers, soldiers, farmers, governors, and eventually bureaucrats who placed the natives on reservations and developed an entirely new civilization in the Americas. In the XVII century the first French settlements in North America were started and started to grow. France was making a concerted effort through the support of individuals and consortiums to encourage the exploration, colonization and exploitation of these new lands. The beginning was hard but slowly a society was transplanted, established and began to develop its own identity in Annapolis Royal, Quebec City, Montreal and many other towns and forts. England was one of the first European states to build settlements in north America. In the middle 1700s there was a war between France and Great Britain; England won it and Canada became part of the British Empire. With the end of the American Revolution, British attention in North America moved decisively north with expansion and exploration becoming paramount. Assimilation of the French Canadians, exploration of the Northwest, were all pursued vigorously by England. In 1812 the USA invaded Canada and this war united all the Canadians against the American invasion. Once Canada had become a whole country in 1867, the job was that of unifying, defining, and building an actual state. Canada was born on 1st July 1867 but the real expansion began in the 1870s, with a doubling and tripling of the country. The dream of connecting the Atlantic coast to the Pacific by railway became the so called Macdonald's creed. The "Sunny way" was the phrase which marked the Laurier years. This period started on July 11, 1896 when the Conservatives were thrown from office by the electorate and replaced by the Liberals. The new government continued to open up to the west, began to build up the military force, including a new Canadian navy, pushed new railways across the country and presided over the greatest gold rush the world has ever witnessed. These were times of growth, optimism, new frontiers, unlimited horizons and a hardening of the Canadian identity. One of the most traumatic events for Canada and the world was the First World War. The golden era before the war was a time of scientific discovery, social reforms, artistic innovations, a time of belief in the progress of mankind. This illusion was abruptly shattered in August of 1914 with the outbreak of war in Europe. Over the next four years science was perverted, societies were corrupted, the truth suppressed and traditions destroyed. The western front became a hell on earth which killed a generation of Europe's, Canada's and many other nations' finest youth but the end of the war brought a period of readjustment, a new set of values and the nationalistic euphoria of victory. In 1926 the country gained its independence. October 1929 came as a shock to Wall Street and to the economy of North America. The relationship between the United States and Canada was never recognized as being so closely related as when both countries quickly sunk into the Great Depression. Along with this economic apocalypse came a drought which destroyed farmlands, dried up the land and blew away the top soil on many parts of the prairies. In this period the government tried to help the population, but it did exactly the wrong combination of financial actions which compounded the slowdown in the economy. A first solution was the admission to the Commonwealth, in 1931. In that moment the Canadian economy connected to Great Britain, and this connection is also important today. Canada was to become the great training base for Empire countries and its' navy grew to be the third largest in the world by the end of World War II. Canadian troops once again crossed the oceans to fight in Europe in addition to the Mediterranean and Asia. The long struggle began with the fall of Poland and France which left England and it's Commonwealth standing alone against a fascist Europe. Only in June 1941 and then again in December were the Soviet Union and the US drawn into the conflict as allies and slowly the tide began to turn. The war changed Canada in many ways. It ended the depression, pulled Canada onto the world stage and set the pace for the longest and strongest economic boom in the country's history. Confidence and optimism were the watch words by 1945. With victory over Germany, Italy and Japan, came peace and prosperity. Canada, as one of the victors, enjoyed the fruits of that victory and the world seemed to be a safe, friendly place. Slowly this confidence was undermined as relations between east and west were strained. Stalin and the Soviet Union began to reveal their aggressive political philosophy . The Korean war had served as the first direct major hot war between the west and the communist bloc. The fifties became a period of invisible changes. Nationalistic feelings grew in Quebec and the economic growth continued. By the beginning of the 60's the western world had become anxious for change. The new America president, J. F. Kennedy, represented activism, youth and a new call to duty. He excited the people, the world and Canada turned back to the Liberals for leadership. Technology was also shaping the new Canada and in 1967 for a few glorious summer months, the celebration of the country's 100th birthday, Expo 67 in Montreal, became one of the focal points of the world's attention. In 1982 Canada endowed with a Constitution. Now Canada is a modern, rich, developped country. Its economy is in the vanguard, and a lot of technologies were developed here.
Canadian history
Canada was discovered in 1497 by John Cabot. The first European explorers encountered established settlements everywhere along the coast of America. This first contact between European civilization and native cultures took very different forms in various meetings, but all were previews of a larger and more explosive trend that was to drive the natives back from the shores. The European explorers became settlers, soldiers, farmers, governors, and eventually bureaucrats who placed the natives on reservations and developed an entirely new civilization in the Americas.
In the XVII century the first French settlements in North America were started and started to grow. France was making a concerted effort through the support of individuals and consortiums to encourage the exploration, colonization and exploitation of these new lands. The beginning was hard but slowly a society was transplanted, established and began to develop its own identity in Annapolis Royal, Quebec City, Montreal and many other towns and forts. England was one of the first European states to build settlements in north America. In the middle 1700s there was a war between France and Great Britain; England won it and Canada became part of the British Empire.
With the end of the American Revolution, British attention in North America moved decisively north with expansion and exploration becoming paramount. Assimilation of the French Canadians, exploration of the Northwest, were all pursued vigorously by England. In 1812 the USA invaded Canada and this war united all the Canadians against the American invasion. Once Canada had become a whole country in 1867, the job was that of unifying, defining, and building an actual state. Canada was born on 1st July 1867 but the real expansion began in the 1870s, with a doubling and tripling of the country. The dream of connecting the Atlantic coast to the Pacific by railway became the so called Macdonald's creed.
The "Sunny way" was the phrase which marked the Laurier years. This period started on July 11, 1896 when the Conservatives were thrown from office by the electorate and replaced by the Liberals. The new government continued to open up to the west, began to build up the military force, including a new Canadian navy, pushed new railways across the country and presided over the greatest gold rush the world has ever witnessed. These were times of growth, optimism, new frontiers, unlimited horizons and a hardening of the Canadian identity.
One of the most traumatic events for Canada and the world was the First World War. The golden era before the war was a time of scientific discovery, social reforms, artistic innovations, a time of belief in the progress of mankind. This illusion was abruptly shattered in August of 1914 with the outbreak of war in Europe. Over the next four years science was perverted, societies were corrupted, the truth suppressed and traditions destroyed.
The western front became a hell on earth which killed a generation of Europe's, Canada's and many other nations' finest youth but the end of the war brought a period of readjustment, a new set of values and the nationalistic euphoria of victory. In 1926 the country gained its independence.
October 1929 came as a shock to Wall Street and to the economy of North America. The relationship between the United States and Canada was never recognized as being so closely related as when both countries quickly sunk into the Great Depression. Along with this economic apocalypse came a drought which destroyed farmlands, dried up the land and blew away the top soil on many parts of the prairies. In this period the government tried to help the population, but it did exactly the wrong combination of financial actions which compounded the slowdown in the economy. A first solution was the admission to the Commonwealth, in 1931. In that moment the Canadian economy connected to Great Britain, and this connection is also important today.
Canada was to become the great training base for Empire countries and its' navy grew to be the third largest in the world by the end of World War II. Canadian troops once again crossed the oceans to fight in Europe in addition to the Mediterranean and Asia. The long struggle began with the fall of Poland and France which left England and it's Commonwealth standing alone against a fascist Europe. Only in June 1941 and then again in December were the Soviet Union and the US drawn into the conflict as allies and slowly the tide began to turn. The war changed Canada in many ways. It ended the depression, pulled Canada onto the world stage and set the pace for the longest and strongest economic boom in the country's history. Confidence and optimism were the watch words by 1945.
With victory over Germany, Italy and Japan, came peace and prosperity. Canada, as one of the victors, enjoyed the fruits of that victory and the world seemed to be a safe, friendly place. Slowly this confidence was undermined as relations between east and west were strained. Stalin and the Soviet Union began to reveal their aggressive political philosophy .
The Korean war had served as the first direct major hot war between the west and the communist bloc. The fifties became a period of invisible changes. Nationalistic feelings grew in Quebec and the economic growth continued.
By the beginning of the 60's the western world had become anxious for change. The new America president, J. F. Kennedy, represented activism, youth and a new call to duty. He excited the people, the world and Canada turned back to the Liberals for leadership. Technology was also shaping the new Canada and in 1967 for a few glorious summer months, the celebration of the country's 100th birthday, Expo 67 in Montreal, became one of the focal points of the world's attention. In 1982 Canada endowed with a Constitution. Now Canada is a modern, rich, developped country. Its economy is in the vanguard, and a lot of technologies were developed here.
Adapted from
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